Systems Case Study

Dave Filmer Canary Wharf PLC

Systems of Control

For this system of control study, I am going to investigate the Information Technology computer security system in Canary Wharf, London. Canary Wharf is a development on the Isle of Dogs, a complex of Stone- and glass-sheathed office buildings begun in the 1980s and a central 50-story skyscraper, One Canada Square, dominates it. In 1987 a rapid transit system, the Docklands Light Railway, was built to link the Isle of Dogs and other areas. Some of the systems in the database that I will focus on include:

What the Information Technology defense systems are
If the system is penetrated, what happens?
The techniques developed and used to protect single computers and the network
The different types of harmful effects to hardware, software and physical loss of data
The simple and then more complex methods of data protection and an in depth look at the Data Protection Act. (See appendix one)
The different types of tracing a hacker and what they use to infiltrate
The most widely used system of decoding in the US which is Data Encryption Standard (DES) (See appendix two)

I will look at all of these points in depth to find out what and why hackers break into systems especially as Canary Wharf is already the third rated terrorist attackers point in the world even through computer security as well as through physical security.

The system itself has a very secure network and e-mailing system. There has been 1,000,000 sterling pounds spent on the network and the security alone. Canary Wharf uses some simple measures to ensure (along with complex as well) that there security system are kept their own and are never infiltrated.

I am going to study this system because I am interested in computers and extremely intrigued as to how one man or women can infiltrate a system worth over 1,000,000 sterling pounds. These people are known as ‘hackers’. (See appendix three) I would like to find out what the different systems measures are to protect the system are. I have thought of a few simple ones, none to complex:

Passwords-either users passwords or some of a greater level
Encryptions-why documents and such are in code so others can not read
Authorisation-why only certain people are allowed on a whole network of files
Firewalls-why some documents cannot even be viewed on a high security networks

By following and gaining information on this system, I hope to undertake an understanding of computer systems as a whole and why hackers are what they are and why even multi millionaires are feared of them just like the world.

I would like to find out about the different types of software such as Norton Anti virus, designed and made by Microsoft and see if Canary Wharf uses this system and type of virus program. I hope to have a greater understanding in this project, in the way of measures to stop hackers, the way hackers think, the views of some of the top people at Canary Wharf on hackers and why and how they can be stopped and found out. I will benefit from this, as I am extremely interested in computers and computer technology, this helps as I have some background knowledge. The Canary Wharf computer security system is obviously extremely well protected and well organized with the amount of expenditure and finance that was put into the system so I want to know where the majority of the money goes and what area is concentrated on and why.

The system at Canary Wharf has many measures to ensure a safe environment around the company with complex and simple measures. The protection of the computer systems at Canary Wharf and the information from harm, theft, and unauthorized use is a complex matter. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect other valuable or sensitive equipment. At Canary Wharf this is namely- serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The protection of information and system access at Canary Wharf, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics, some of them quite complex.

The main aims of the system start with the security precautions related to computer information and access address four major threats:

The most basic means of protecting a computer system against theft, vandalism, invasion of privacy, and other irresponsible behaviors is to electronically track and record the access to, and activities of, the various users of a computer system. This is commonly done by assigning an individual password to each person whom has access to a system, which is one measure, used at Canary Wharf.

The computer system at the Wharf itself can then automatically track the use of these passwords, recording such data as which files were accessed under particular passwords and so on. Another security measure is to store a system's data on a separate device, or medium, such as magnetic tape or disks, that is normally inaccessible through the computer system also used. Computer security at Canary Wharf has become increasingly important since the late 1960s, when modems (devices that allow computers to communicate over telephone lines) were introduced. The proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s compounded the problem because they enabled hackers (See appendix three) to illegally access major computer systems from the privacy of their homes.

Security is particularly important for their computers that are connected to a communications network, because many users can freely access any computer. Entering an individual password authenticates authorized users, and then a computer usage fee is charged to the account of each user. Another measure used by the Wharf members is a user interface. The operating system provides a convenient interface between a computer and its users. In the case of batch processing with mainframes, for example, users may want to run their large programs only after midnight for several days until the execution of the programs is completed. In ...